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OFWs may be prioritized for plastic driver's license card: LTO officer-in-charge

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A step-by-step guide for application is posted as motorists wait for their drivers license at the releasing office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Quezon City, Aug. 29, 2017. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/06/01/20170829-lto-drivers-license-8-jc.jpg"/><figcaption>A step-by-step guide for application is posted as motorists wait for their drivers license at the releasing office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Quezon City, Aug. 29, 2017. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File </figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATE)— Overseas Filipino workers may be prioritized in the release of plastic driver&#x27;s license cards, which are facing a shortage, the new officer-in-charge of the Land Transportation Office said on Thursday. Currently, applicants receive driver’s licenses printed on paper. Only 53,000 plastic cards for driver&#x27;s licenses are left, said LTO officer-in-charge Hector Villacorta, a former assistant secretary at the transportation department. &quot;During the turnover, ini-meeting ko na yung mga division chief, sabi ko siguro dapat inuhin yung mga departing OFWs na kailangan yung totoong lisensya ang magamit nila... kung saan man sila pupunta, para naman magkatrabaho sila. Baka hindi tanggapin yung papel [abroad],&quot; he told ABS-CBN&#x27;s TeleRadyo. (I met with the division chiefs. I told them that perhaps we should prioritize departing OFWs who need to show their license in their destination country so they could work. The paper license might not be accepted abroad.)Villacorta replaces Jay Art Tugade, who resigned as LTO chief in late May, citing differences between his office and the Department of Transportation (DOTr), its parent agency.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/22/23/lto-chief-tugade-resigns-cites-differences-with-dotr">LTO chief Tugade resigns, cites differences with DOTr</a></li></ul>Tugade and Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista earlier gave contradicting statements about the shortage in plastic cards for driver&#x27;s licenses. Tugade had insisted that the DOTr’s January 2023 memorandum prevented LTO from procuring plastic cards. But Bautista said the LTO should have taken care of the procurement process as soon as it spotted the need.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/25/23/2-firms-pass-first-stage-of-bidding-for-drivers-license-deal">2 firms pass first stage of bidding for driver&#x27;s license deal</a></li></ul>&quot;Ang decision namin kahapon is wala nang finger-pointing at maaaring yung sistema kasi ng procurement ay dapat pabilisin na lang. In the next 2 months, we’ll have something concrete,&quot; Villacorta said of the issue. (We decided yesterday that there will be no more finger-pointing and the procurement system should just be fast-tracked.)&quot;Our process must go on even if there are changes in the leadership. ‘Pag nagbabago ng leadership, panibagong umpisa na naman e,&quot; he added. (When the leadership changes, it starts all over again.)In a separate interview, Villacorta said he has already made an initial assessment on the problem of fixers in the LTO“Yung mga fixers, nag-incognito na ako kaninang umaga, umikot na ako dito sa block ng East Avenue, tinanong ko kung magkano ang ayusan dun sa mga fixers, ang sabi sa akin, &#x27;P2,000 sir.&#x27; Meron na akong initial na assessment sa presence sa mga fixers sa mga bangketa,” he said in a public briefing.“I would have to meet with the frontliners mamaya and to tell them that there are an honest-to-goodness against corruption here,&quot; he added. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2636658" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

OFWs may be prioritized in the release of plastic driver's license cards, which are facing a shortage, the new officer-in-charge of the LTO said. 